hi guys. newbie here. been suddenly called to phuket and have time to dive from saturday afternoon and sunday morning only. what are my options? i want to see sharks and manta rays. is that possible with my limited time? how about night dives?
also, how much do operators there usually charge? and can you recommend a local operator with good guides and reasonable rates?
stevenl
March 1st, 2006, 10:24 PM
What you could do is make a local dive at Kata Beach, either by longtail or from the beach. IMO, Kata Beach offers the best beach diving in the area.
Also nightdives are possible here and very nice with lots of lobster, scorpion fish, cuttlefish. There are also barracuda in the area and ghost pipe fish, occassionaly even a turtle, so really worth the effort. Just don't count on manta rays or sharks.
Bowmouth
March 1st, 2006, 10:45 PM
Your only and best option seems to be shore diving off Kata Beach. I've dived Karon Rock in the past a few times but am not sure what the current status of that site is. It's only a short longtail boat ride away from Kata and has always been a great site.
Kata has also a fairly nice shoredive and the local operators are professional and reasonbly priced. I dived with Phuket Scuba Club years ago and they are friendly and still there!
pinklizard
March 2nd, 2006, 12:21 AM
Try a 3D/2N liveaboard to Hin Daeng / Hin Muang! Saw a manta every dive when I was there in December. Just came back from Similans 2 weeks ago, no mantas tho'.
Quero
March 2nd, 2006, 01:31 AM
I don't have first-hand experience with this, but I know that there are some half-day dive trips around. I think you can find a half-day trip to Koh Weo and another to the tin dredge wreck up between kamala and khao lak somewhere.
A couple of speedboats offer half-day trips; from what I can tell, they may be afternoon only.
I know of one dive op in Kata that does half-day longtail trips nearby, and it's likely that others also offer this. If you want more info, PM me. I should tell you not to expect mantas at these sites, but you never know. One instructor saw a whale shark when he was out with DSD students last month!
Traminer
March 2nd, 2006, 01:56 AM
The dive shops in Patong, Kata/Karon all offer day trips to PhiPhi, Racha Yai, King Cruiser/Sharks Point. Most of them will involve a 2-3 hour ride out to the site, with breakfast and hot lunch included. Prices are comparable, between 2000 to 3000 bh per trip. None of the daytrips will do night dives, except for the local shops in Kata/Karon who may do dives on their house reefs.
I dived with West Coast Divers, www.westcoastdivers.com and I think they are great.
The LOBs ex Phuket are very expensive because of the distances involved and fuel costs. If you're keen on the similians, there are daytrips ex Khao Lak via speedboat. And similarly for Hin Daeng, you can do a trip ex Koh Lanta.
stevenl
March 2nd, 2006, 02:08 AM
Hi Traminer,
How long ago have you been here, the prices you mention seem to be a bit out of date. Prices for daytrips are, depending on destination operator and number of dives, between 2,400 Baht and 4,000 Baht. There are a couple of daytrips with 4 dives, so yes, it is possible to make a nightdive on a daytrip, and as you mention, there are of course the operators offering nightdives at the house reefs.
LOB's from Phuket are no more expensive than the boats from Khao Lak. The cheaper boats tend to leave from Khao Lak, but whether you book them in Phuket or Khao Lak won't make any price difference though. For daytrips to the Similans I totally agree, they are more comfortable from Khao Lak than from Phuket.
jigo
March 2nd, 2006, 07:16 AM
thanks for the great infor guys!
jigo
March 2nd, 2006, 07:21 AM
how feasible is going to shark point from phuket? how many hours and how much will it cost?
stevenl
March 2nd, 2006, 07:46 AM
Shark Point from Phuket: 1h45, will cost about 3,000 Baht for 3 dives (normally also at King Cruiser and Koh Doc Mai, but also Anemone Reef is possible) or 2,500 Baht for 2 dives, in combination with either of the above.
Trips are leaving every day, for a 3-dive trip, count on about 08.00 till 18.00 hours.
Sponsored Link
jigo
March 2nd, 2006, 09:51 AM
is racha noi just as accessible? which one is better, shark point or racha noi?
Traminer
March 2nd, 2006, 08:39 PM
Racha Noi in high season tends to be Bungalow bay... not very exciting. I've heard the north east side of the island is better.
Sharks Point is always fun but didn't see a shark there during my 2 dives there there. Heard they are kinda rare now.
Stevenl.. any ideas which of the Phuket operators will do night dives? Sounds like fun!
jigo
March 2nd, 2006, 09:01 PM
no sharks at shark point? now i am rethinking my dive plans
pinklizard
March 2nd, 2006, 09:13 PM
Oh sorry, i didn't see that you can only dive half days. Why don't you try Kata's shore dives?
Quero
March 2nd, 2006, 10:42 PM
Racha Noi in high season tends to be Bungalow bay... not very exciting. I've heard the north east side of the island is better.
Sharks Point is always fun but didn't see a shark there during my 2 dives there there. Heard they are kinda rare now.
Stevenl.. any ideas which of the Phuket operators will do night dives? Sounds like fun!
Traminer: Your memory is failing you :hanged: Bungalow Bay is a Racha YAI site, and it can be a nice, easy dive.
Shark Point isn't alive with sharks, it's true. But I've seen a leopard shark on each of my recent dives there.
stevenl
March 2nd, 2006, 10:46 PM
Nightdives: on Sunday with Sea Bees (Koh Doc Mai) and Monday with Calypso (Racha Yai). Plus of course at the housereefs here at Kata and some other places as well.
Agree with Traminer: I don't like Bungalow Bay (Racha Yai), I prefer the local dives at Kata.
Bowmouth
March 2nd, 2006, 10:58 PM
Agree with Traminer: I don't like Bungalow Bay (Racha Yai), I prefer the local dives at Kata.
Bungalow Bay is mostly an average dive but sometimes this site will surprise you. Who of you remembers the black rubber boot with the black angler fish on top of it? Or the two robust ghost pipe fishes on top of the broken squid trap? It was nearly like diving in Lembeh; lots of trash and cool critters! Oups, maybe I'm getting a little bit too carried away now? :D
Batfish
March 3rd, 2006, 01:08 AM
All the discussion of day trips is all very well, but the OP says:
"saturday afternoon and sunday morning only"
jigo - can you tell us exactly when you arrive and depart and by what mode of transport..this will aid in trip planning....
jigo
March 3rd, 2006, 05:58 AM
plans have changed. will get there saturday night. thus can dive only sunday since am leaving tuesday morning. i plan to skip seminars on sunday so i can do a 3 tank day trip. thanks for your responses guys!
Ringo
March 3rd, 2006, 08:12 AM
The local dives off Kata, Kata Noi and Karon beaches certainly have a lot more marine life than Bungalow bay at Racha Yai. The viz would not be as good as at Racha but then some prefer to see more marine life than divers. Also the beauty of these sites is that only a handful of operators offer these dive site options hence less divers, boat surface traffic etc! Also night dives are readily available - either shore dives or longtail boat dives. Don't expect to see any of the bigger pelagics, instead you could concentrate on the smaller marine creatures as well as huge schools of fusiliers, batfish, parrotfish, barracudas, blue spotted stingrays and the occassional turtle etc. Not bad for a half day dive if you do not have the time to go on a longer trip! Prices for shore dives from about 900 baht inc equipment and about 1300 baht for a longtail boat dive inc equipment.
Whatever you do Jigo - enjoy!
Sponsored Link
Ringo
March 3rd, 2006, 08:26 AM
Shark Point isn't alive with sharks, it's true. But I've seen a leopard shark on each of my recent dives there.[/QUOTE]
Hey Quero how are you doing? :05: Hope well.
Also for SB members in this thread during the low or green season months there are definitely more leopard sharks around then due to the less amount of divers etc. Personally recommend diving at these sites then if seeing the bigger pelagics is the objective. Nevertheless these are still beautiful sites with the colourful corals amongst the other marine life.
Otherwise Quero hope to see you soon!
jigo
March 3rd, 2006, 08:31 AM
Thanks Ringo!
jigo
March 6th, 2006, 04:59 AM
finally dove at phuket: kho doc mai, shark points and anemone reef. Kho doc mai was not good but the leopard shark at shark point and the ghost pipe fishes at anemone reef more than made up for the first dive. Thanks for the assist Quero!
MoonWrasse
March 6th, 2006, 05:41 AM
Shark Point isn't alive with sharks, it's true. But I've seen a leopard shark on each of my recent dives there.
Hey Quero how are you doing? :05: Hope well.
Also for SB members in this thread during the low or green season months there are definitely more leopard sharks around then due to the less amount of divers etc. Personally recommend diving at these sites then if seeing the bigger pelagics is the objective. Nevertheless these are still beautiful sites with the colourful corals amongst the other marine life.
Otherwise Quero hope to see you soon!
Kissed a leopard at Bida Nok today. Well, almost kissed it :D
jigo
March 6th, 2006, 06:14 AM
came close enough to touch it from the dorsal fin to the tail too. was trying to overtake it and get a frontal shot. failed. too old. should've stroked it instead
Batfish
March 6th, 2006, 08:53 PM
Hey MoonWrasse, you're in town? Welcome to come and say Hi!
Jamie
Quero
March 9th, 2006, 11:06 PM
Shark Point isn't alive with sharks, it's true. But I've seen a leopard shark on each of my recent dives there.
Hey Quero how are you doing? :05: Hope well.
Also for SB members in this thread during the low or green season months there are definitely more leopard sharks around then due to the less amount of divers etc. Personally recommend diving at these sites then if seeing the bigger pelagics is the objective. Nevertheless these are still beautiful sites with the colourful corals amongst the other marine life.
Otherwise Quero hope to see you soon![/quote]
Doing great, Chantal. I'll come by when I get back to Thailand in May.
James, I'm glad you enjoyed your dives. Sorry I couldn't go along with you! It's a shame Koh Doc Mai wasn't good the day you were out. I usually enjoy it a lot; though the viz is often not as good as some of the other sites, I love seeing the small stuff that hangs out there.
jigo
March 10th, 2006, 07:43 AM
Ya too bad viz was bad. i was hoping to get a few shots of the 3 varieties of shrimps that were supposed to be there. didint see a single one cuz it was dark and silty. the leopard shark made it worth the trip though. thanks again.
MoonWrasse
March 10th, 2006, 09:54 AM
Ya too bad viz was bad. i was hoping to get a few shots of the 3 varieties of shrimps that were supposed to be there. didint see a single one cuz it was dark and silty. the leopard shark made it worth the trip though. thanks again.
Dancing and coral banded shrimp - I saw at Ko Doc Mai yesterday, better to dive the wall on the east side before noon, otherwise you'll be in shadow. Also you'd need a light to see either anyway as I recall due to where they tend to live.
Also if there's a strong current, you'd find yourself ripping along too fast IMO to see the critters.
I'm not sure what the 3rd type of shrimp there would be.
MoonWrasse
March 10th, 2006, 09:57 AM
Hey MoonWrasse, you're in town? Welcome to come and say Hi!
Jamie
Sure, maybe next Tuesday. You're in Patong, right?
I'm off to RR to (hopefully) see some big stuff.
jigo
March 10th, 2006, 11:14 PM
Dancing and coral banded shrimp - I saw at Ko Doc Mai yesterday, better to dive the wall on the east side before noon, otherwise you'll be in shadow. Also you'd need a light to see either anyway as I recall due to where they tend to live.
Also if there's a strong current, you'd find yourself ripping along too fast IMO to see the critters.
I'm not sure what the 3rd type of shrimp there would be.
I think they mentioned red mantis shrimps. am just curious cuz we have them here in the Philippines but they are green.
